


Bring You Closer to Me

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Be_compromised Promptathon, Be_compromised Valentine's Day Promptathon, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Sharing a Bed, Storms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: Two friends. A storm. A shared bed. And some unexpected declarations.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 13
Kudos: 69
Collections: Be Compromised Promptathon





	Bring You Closer to Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shenshen77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shenshen77/gifts).



> For Shen, who prompted the following based on "One Bed For Christmas", a delightful novella by Jackie Lau
> 
> A: A winter storm hit and the power at my place is out, can I crash at yours?  
> B: Sure, you're one of my best friends and I've had a crush on you forever but know I'm not your type. Oh no, we have to share a bed as the heat in my apartment is out too? And you're suddenly so close and... are you attracted to me after all???

_The power at my apartment is out. Can I crash at your place tonight?_

Clint immediately texted back "sure," then dropped his head to his pillow and groaned.

Why the hell had he said sure? It was the middle of night and a storm was brewing. And he'd just agreed to let Natasha, whom he'd been thinking of in a much more than a friend way for _months_ , to come spend the night? If Sam and Bucky had been here, they'd be giving him so much shit right now. Well deserved shit.

Because he hadn't really thought about what would happen once she got here. All he'd thought about was that Natasha needed him and he'd immediately said yes.

Because he was _that_ infatuated with her. And he wanted to be one of the people she could count on. And also, he was an idiot.

His phone buzzed again and he lifted his head to look warily at the screen.

_Great! See you in about thirty! :)_

He debated sending back a quick "my bad my power just went out too" but who was he kidding? Even if his power had gone out, he'd still have let her come over.

With a sigh, he heaved himself out of bed so he could quickly straighten up his apartment before she showed up. Or at the very least wash out the half dozen or so dirty coffee mugs still sitting in his sink.

He was just picking up the last of the stray socks floating around his living room when she gave a perfunctory knock on his door. Quickly throwing the socks under the couch, he jumped over the back of it to swing open the door to find Natash standing there looking like a drowned rat, her bright hair hanging limply around her face and a drenched bag at her feet.

"I didn't think this out very well. The wind took my umbrella before I even hit the subway entrance and the downpour did the rest between there and here." She looked up at him hopefully. "Do you have a spare shirt I can borrow?"

"Yeah, of course," he said quickly, ushering her into his apartment and hurrying to the bathroom to grab a towel. She was soaked through and looked absolutely miserable. "Do you want sweatpants too?"

"Sweatpants would be amazing. And some socks?" she called back.

By the time he got back to the living room, she'd shed her wet, clingy t-shirt and sodden jeans to strip down to her bra and panties. He didn't know which was worse, but both made him uncomfortably aware of how attracted to her he was. Swallowing hard, he shoved down his all the horny thoughts in his head and handed her the dry clothes. The quicker she was dressed in his oversized stuff, the better.

"I'm gonna go get some pillows and blankets for the couch," he said. "For me, I mean. I'll sleep on the couch. You can have the bed."

He didn't wait for her to comment, just hightailed it out of there to go scrounge around in his room for some extra bedding. God, how was he going to handle seeing her in the morning? He wasn't, that's how. He'd wind up a messy pile of goo, barely able to form a coherent sentence. He wondered if he could just fake sleeping really, really late and she'd give up waiting for him to wake up and go home?

"Clint?"

He whipped around to find her standing in the doorway -- now fully clothed, thank god, although the borrowed clothes weren't much better. He wanted to wrap her up in a hug and never let her go.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I was kind of wondering if maybe --"

She stopped when there was a big boom of thunder followed by a bright flash of lightening and then the lights suddenly flickering.

They both stared stupidly at the bedside lamp, wondering if it would flicker again, when there was a second burst of thunder and the power went out completely.

"Guess we're both without power now," Clint said. "It's, uh… it's not too late to grab your stuff and go to Sharon's or Maria's, you know."

Natasha bit her lip as she looked towards the window then back at Clint. "The storm is pretty bad. I'd really rather just stay here, if that's ok with you?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever you want," he said, shrugging and holding up the mess of bedding in his arms. "I've got plenty of blankets."

She tilted her head curiously at him. "Now that the power's out, your heat is off too, right?"

Damn. He'd forgotten about that. "Uh, yeah, I guess it is."

"It would actually make more sense to share your bed," she said. "Shared body heat and all that. I don't mind if you don't mind."

He wanted to protest - he couldn't even contemplate facing her in the morning; there was no way he'd be able to handle a full night lying next to her in his bed, all soft and warm and _Natasha_ \- but the sad thing was, she was right. Crap, crap and triple crap.

"I… yeah. Ok," he mumbled. "Did you, ah, want to go to bed now? Or maybe play some cards by, uh, flashlight?"

He could hear the smile in her voice as she answered. "It's been kind of a long day. Do you mind if we just went to bed?

"Uh, no. Not at all."

Or the exact opposite of that.

Dumping the blankets he held in his arms on the floor, Clint gingerly climbed into the far side of the bed and laid stiffly on his back, trying valiantly not to think about how close Natasha was on the other side of the bed, mere inches away from him. God, how was he going to make it through the night without making some sort of stupid declaration about his feelings?

"Wow, it's getting really cold already," Natasha said, shivering and scooting over to burrow against Clint's side. He vaguely noted that she didn't _feel_ cold; she actually felt very, very warm. Or maybe that was just Clint himself, reacting to her nearness.

She shivered again and he was contemplating if he should put his arms around her when he felt her lips ghost against his shoulder, making him practically bolt out of the bed.

"Uh, Natasha?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that?"

"Hm?"

"That. Was that, um… Was that a kiss?" He could practically see the smirk on her face, even in the darkness. What a stupid question. Of course it had been a kiss. But… why?

"You mean this?" she asked, kissing his shoulder again before teasing a path along his neck and jaw until her mouth hovered next to his. "Or maybe this?" she whispered, before pressing her lips to his.

He groaned and kissed her back, because how could he _not_ and holy crap, was he really kissing Natasha Romanoff? Was she really in his bed and kissing him like she'd never get enough? And was she… Oh god, she was. She was most definitely shifting so that she was lying on top of him, her knees falling to either side of his thighs.

He reached down and grabbed her ass, urging her up a little more until she was settled more firmly against him.

"I have a confession to make," Natasha whispered in the dark. "My power never went off."

_What?!_

"What? I mean…"

"Why did I tell you it did? Because I was tired of the impasse we were at and I had the stupid idea that if I forced your hand we might wind up… here."

"Oh." It had never occurred to him that she might be having the same sort of feelings he'd been having. Why would it? When she was beautiful, smart, amazing... all the things he wasn't. And yet, here she was, saying that she did have some sort of feelings for him.

"Is that a good ‘oh’ or bad ‘oh’?" Natasha asked.

"Good," he said, nodding despite the dim light. "Definitely good."

"Oh."

"As in…"

"More than good." She wiggled against him and he groaned. So ok, she had feelings for him but that didn't mean she wanted to sleep with him. Or did it?

"Do you have any condoms?" she asked, lowering her head to nibble the sensitive skin beneath his ear.

Well, that answered that. He tried not to practically bolt from the bed and race to the bathroom to grab one.

"Yeah, in the bathroom. Just give me a minute," he said, gently pushing her off him so he could climb out of bed and go find one.

"Hey Clint?" she called out as he made his way in the dark, a huge grin that she couldn't see on his face. "You might want to grab more than one. Maybe three or four. Hell, just bring the whole box."


End file.
